US Codex
Bill
Notes

Title II — Background Check Reform

S. 3254 · 116th Congress · Feb 5, 2020 · Lineage

II Background Check Reform

Sec. 201 Universal background checks

(a)
In general— Section 922 of title 18, United States Code, as amended by this Act, is amended—
(1)
by repealing subsection (s);
(2)
by redesignating subsection (t) as subsection (s);
(3)
in subsection (s), as redesignated—
(A)
in paragraph (1)—
(i)
by redesignating subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C) as subparagraphs (B), (C), and (D), respectively; and
(ii)
by inserting before subparagraph (B), as so redesignated, the following:

“(A) beginning on the date that the database is established under section 932(g), before completion of the transfer, the licensee verifies, using such database, that the purchaser has a valid—

“(i) Federal firearm owner's license issued under section 932; or

“(ii) qualifying State firearm license, as described in section 932(d)(2), for the State in which the transfer will occur;”

(B)
in paragraph (3)—
(i)
by striking subparagraph (A);
(ii)
by redesignating subparagraphs (B) and (C) as subparagraphs (A) and (B), respectively; and
(iii)
in subparagraph (B)(ii), as so redesignated, by striking “(as defined in subsection (s)(8))”; and
(4)
by inserting after subsection (s), as so redesignated, the following:

“(t)

“(1)

“(A) Beginning on the date that is 180 days after the date of enactment of the Gun Violence Prevention and Community Safety Act of 2020, it shall be unlawful for any person who is not a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer to transfer a firearm to any other person who is not so licensed, unless a licensed importer, licensed manufacturer, or licensed dealer has first taken possession of the firearm for the purpose of complying with subsection (s).

“(B) Upon taking possession of a firearm under subparagraph (A), a licensee shall comply with all requirements of this chapter as if the licensee were transferring the firearm from the inventory of the licensee to the unlicensed transferee.

“(C) If a transfer of a firearm described in subparagraph (A) will not be completed for any reason after a licensee takes possession of the firearm (including because the transfer of the firearm to, or receipt of the firearm by, the transferee would violate this chapter), the return of the firearm to the transferor by the licensee shall not constitute the transfer of a firearm for purposes of this chapter.

“(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to—

“(A) a law enforcement agency or any law enforcement officer, armed private security professional, or member of the armed forces, to the extent the officer, professional, or member is acting within the course and scope of employment and official duties;

“(B) a transfer that is a loan or bona fide gift between spouses, between domestic partners, between parents and their children, between siblings, between aunts or uncles and their nieces or nephews, or between grandparents and their grandchildren, if the transferor has no reason to believe that the transferee—

“(i) will use or intends to use the firearm in a crime or is prohibited from possessing firearms under Federal, State, Tribal, or local law;

“(ii) has committed domestic violence (as defined in section 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291) or by the jurisdiction in which the transfer is occurring or in which the transferee resides); or

“(iii) is subject to a protection order (as defined in section 2266);

“(C) a transfer to an executor, administrator, trustee, or personal representative of an estate or a trust that occurs by operation of law upon the death of another person;

“(D) a temporary transfer that is necessary to prevent imminent death or great bodily harm, if the possession by the transferee lasts only as long as immediately necessary to prevent the imminent death or great bodily harm;

“(E) a transfer that is approved by the Attorney General under section 5812 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; or

“(F) a temporary transfer if the transferor has no reason to believe that the transferee will use or intends to use the firearm in a crime or is prohibited from possessing firearms under State, Federal, Tribal, or local law, and no reason to believe that the transferee has committed domestic violence (as defined in section 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994 (34 U.S.C. 12291) or by the jurisdiction in which the transfer is occurring or in which the transferee resides) or is subject to a protection order (as defined in section 2266) and the transfer takes place and the transferee's possession of the firearm is exclusively—

“(i) at a shooting range or in a shooting gallery or other area designated for the purpose of target shooting;

“(ii) while reasonably necessary for the purposes of hunting, trapping, or fishing, if the transferor—

“(I) has no reason to believe that the transferee intends to use the firearm in a place where it is illegal; and

“(II) has reason to believe that the transferee will comply with all licensing and permit requirements for such hunting, trapping, or fishing; or

“(iii) while in the presence of the transferor.”

(b)
Technical and conforming amendments—
(1)
Section 922— Section 922(y)(2) of title 18, United States Code, is amended, in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by striking “, (g)(5)(B), and (s)(3)(B)(v)(II)” and inserting “and (g)(5)(B)”.
(2)
Section 925a— Section 925A of title 18, United States Code, is amended, in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking “subsection (s) or (t) of section 922” and inserting “section 922(s)”.

Sec. 202 Completion of background checks; 7-day waiting period

Section 922(s)(1)(C) of title 18, United States Code, as amended by section 201 of this Act, is amended—
(1)
in clause (i), by striking “; or” and inserting “; and”; and
(2)
in clause (ii)—
(A)
by striking “3 business” and inserting “not less than 7 business”; and
(B)
by striking “, and the” and all that follows through “this section”.

Sec. 203 Reporting of background check denials

(a)
In general— Chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after section 925A the following:

“925B. Reporting of background check denials to State authorities

“(a) In general—If the national instant criminal background check system established under section 103 of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (34 U.S.C. 40901) (commonly referred to as “NICS”) provides a notice pursuant to section 922(s) of this title that the receipt of a firearm by a person would violate subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of this title or State law, the Attorney General shall, in accordance with subsection (b) of this section—

“(1) report to the law enforcement authorities of the State where the person sought to acquire the firearm and, if different, the law enforcement authorities of the State of residence of the person—

“(A) that the notice was provided;

“(B) the specific provision of law that would have been violated;

“(C) the date and time the notice was provided;

“(D) the location where the firearm was sought to be acquired; and

“(E) the identity of the person; and

“(2) where practicable, report the incident to local law enforcement authorities and State and local prosecutors in the jurisdiction where the firearm was sought and in the jurisdiction where the person resides.

“(b) Requirements for report—A report is made in accordance with this section if the report is made within 24 hours after the provision of the notice described in subsection (a), except that the making of the report may be delayed for so long as is necessary to avoid compromising an ongoing investigation.

“(c) Amendment of report—If a report is made in accordance with this section and, after such report is made, the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determines that the receipt of a firearm by a person for whom the report was made would not violate subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of this title or State law, the Attorney General shall, in accordance with subsection (b), notify any law enforcement authority and any prosecutor to whom the report was made of that determination.

“(d) Rule of construction—Nothing in subsection (a) shall be construed to require a report with respect to a person to be made to the same State authorities that originally issued the notice with respect to the person.

“925C. Annual report to Congress

“Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Attorney General shall submit to Congress a report detailing the following, broken down by Federal judicial district:

“(1) With respect to each category of persons prohibited by subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of this title or State law from receiving or possessing a firearm who are so denied a firearm—

“(A) the number of denials;

“(B) the number of denials referred to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives;

“(C) the number of denials for which the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determines that the person denied was not prohibited by subsection (g) or (n) of section 922 of this title or State law from receiving or possessing a firearm;

“(D) the number of denials overturned through the national instant criminal background check system appeals process and the reasons for overturning the denials;

“(E) the number of denials with respect to which an investigation was opened by a field division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives;

“(F) the number of persons charged with a Federal criminal offense in connection with a denial; and

“(G) the number of convictions obtained by Federal authorities in connection with a denial.

“(2) The number of background check notices reported to State authorities pursuant to section 925B (including the number of the notices that would have been so reported but for section 925B(c)).”

(b)
Clerical amendment— The table of sections for chapter 44 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to section 925A the following: